1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for judging recovery of physical condition of a puerperal woman, for example, for determining whether or not to allow her to be discharged from the hospital.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, judgment of the recovery of physical condition of a puerperal woman is based on such that if she can stand up, then she would be allowed to start walking. Further, although a doctor has made a decision on discharge of the woman in puerperium from the hospital by taking all the results of blood test and urinalysis in addition to good uterine contraction into account, it generally has been the practice that woman is discharged from the hospital about one week after her delivery.
However, the woman in her puerperium is subjected to a considerable burden which could not be determined by her external appearance since the woman""s body after delivery is significantly changed from one environment to grow a placenta inside a uterus to the other environment to nurse a newborn outside the uterus. For example, since the puerperal woman can not hold inside a blood vessel an amount of blood having been increased due to pregnancy, a blood pressure increases to cause a blood plasma leaking from the blood vessel into an intercellular substance, which eventually produces an internal body change caused by retaining a large amount of water content in the intercellular substance, i.e. a large edema, even after her delivery.
The present invention is to measure a bioelectric characteristic of a puerperal woman as well as to store a value of the measured bioelectric characteristic, and to judge a recovery of her physical condition after delivery based on the variation of the values.
Further, the present invention is to measure a bioelectric characteristic of a woman in non-pregnancy period or at an early stage of her pregnancy period as well as that in her puerperium after delivery, so that these bioelectric characteristics may be compared each other to make a right judgment regarding a recovery of her physical condition after delivery.
Still further, the recovery of the physical condition of a puerperal woman is to be judged by the comparison of the bioelectric characteristic value of the woman in non-pregnancy period or at an early stage of her pregnancy period with a variation in the bioelectric characteristic value in her puerperium after delivery.
Still further, preferably the bioelectric characteristic is a bioelectric impedance.
Still further, preferably the bioelectric characteristic is an interstitial fluid index.
Still further, the present invention provides an apparatus comprising a measuring unit which measures a bioelectric characteristic of a puerperal woman, a storing unit which stores a value of the bioelectric characteristic, and an indicating unit which indicates data having stored in the storing unit.
Furthermore, the present invention provides an apparatus comprising a measuring unit which measures a bioelectric characteristic of a woman in non-pregnancy period or at an early stage of her pregnancy period, and a bioelectric characteristic of the puerperal woman, a storing unit which stores measured values of these bioelectric characteristics, a comparing unit which compares the value of the bioelectric characteristic in non-pregnancy period or at the early stage of her pregnancy period with the value of the bioelectric characteristic in her puerperium after delivery, each of said values of the bioelectric characteristics having been stored in said storing unit, and an indicating unit which indicates the data in said comparing unit.
Still further, preferably said measuring unit measures a bioelectric impedance of a woman in her puerperium and said indicating unit indicates an impedance value.
Still further, preferably said measuring unit measures an interstitial fluid index of a woman in her puerperium period and said indicating unit indicates the interstitial fluid index.
Still further, preferably said storing unit stores the bioelectric characteristic in her non-pregnancy period or at an early stage of her pregnancy period and a daily bioelectric characteristic in her puerperium period after delivery.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for judging a recovery of physical condition of a puerperal woman comprising the steps of: measuring a bioelectric characteristic of the woman in non-pregnancy period or at an early stage of her pregnancy period; measuring the bioelectric characteristic of the puerperal woman; storing said bioelectric characteristics; and graphically indicating said bioelectric characteristics to facilitate a judgment of the recovery of physical condition of the puerperal woman .
Still further, said bioelectric characteristics to be stored for her non-pregnancy period and for up to around 12th week in her pregnancy period is a mean value of the bioelectric characteristics averaged over around one week.
Furthermore, the present invention provides an apparatus for judging a recovery of physical condition of a puerperal woman comprising: a measuring unit which measures a bioelectric characteristic of a woman in non-pregnancy period or at an early stage of her pregnancy period and the bioelectric characteristic of the puerperal woman; a storing unit which stores measured values of said bioelectric characteristics; and an indicating unit which graphically indicates said bioelectric characteristics stored by said storing unit.
There will now be described in detail preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawing.